Education
Blackfoot Woman Wins Open Government Award
A Blackfoot woman who went to court to expose secret payments to a former school superintendent has been named the recipient of the 2013 Max Dalton Open Government Award sponsored by the Idaho Newspaper Foundation. Joyce Bingham will receive the award and accompanying $1,000 prize at an awards luncheon scheduled for Saturday in Boise. The [...]
Do Charter Schools Comply With Idaho Constitution?
The financial failure of the North Star Charter School in Eagle–and at least six other charters– has raised questions for which the GUARDIAN is finding it difficult to get answers. While these schools seem to be following the Idaho Code, there are some legitimate legal questions regarding the Idaho Constitution. These step children of traditional [...]
Slip Sliding Away Generates Chilly Attitude
DISCLAIMER: The GUARDIAN has been off in Florida fishing with grandson in the gulf and apologizes for the lack of good stories the past 10 days. Unprecedented cold weather combined with wet snow has created a virtual obstacle course for Boise pedestrians and when the spokesman for Team Dave was featured on the TV news [...]
Despair, Frustration, Fear, Anger, Grief–Sandy Hook School
We have spent much of the day pondering the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary School In Connecticut where twenty children and eight adults were shot to death today. The one thing that comes into sharp perspective immediately is the insignificance of most things in our lives when confronted with the knowledge that at least 28 [...]
HUD Favors Coppers, Teachers, Firefighters Over Professors And Private Sector Workers
In light of Boise’s new anti gay discrimination ordinance, a reader’s outrage over official U.S. Government discrimination against private sector employees in Ada County is worth sharing. The following e-mail was sent to the GUARDIAN and we have confirmed it is indeed real and private sector citizens are not allowed to compete for what amounts [...]
Monkey Business Trumps Sexual Assault When It Comes To Outrage
THREE OF THE “OUT OF ORDER” BSU EMERGENCY PHONES PERSPECTIVE! We need to get things in Perspective. When a woman was assaulted near the BSU campus Sunday night, it drew only a couple paragraphs in the DAILY PAPER. There was no outrage among citizens, no call for extra security (while several security phones are out [...]
Big Ben Chimes Zero Hour For Secret Finance Committee
Kudos to Idaho Secretary of State Big Ben Ysursa who has filed suit in 4th District Court in an effort to force disclosure of the names of those who have donated more than $50 to a group called Education Voters of Idaho. “The voters made it clear when they passed the Sunshine initiative, that public [...]
Land Board Rewards Director
Idaho’s state Land Board has bumped state Lands Director Tom Schultz’s salary from $112,800 per year to $120,000. That’s keeping with a promised salary review when he was hired. He seems to be an OK guy, has a good resume and follows the will of the Board. We have a problem with the board’s decisions [...]
Some Educated Thoughts To Consider
Its an annual event this time of year: students graduate either high school or college, there are inspiring stories of old immigrants getting degrees, students overcoming emotional and financial hurdles, and of course politicos making commencement addresses to show they are “pro education.” Just today we encountered a couple of youngsters (nearly everyone is a [...]
A New Month Brings Hope For Future
This morning we awakened to all sorts of good news. First it was Team Dave announcing they have abandoned plans for not only a downtown baseball park, but they also promised to not use any public money to further the desire named Streetcar (also known as the Trolley Folly). Next thing we heard was the [...]
Voter Turnout Above Average For School Issue
Candidate advice. If you want to get elected, contact the “Friends” of Boise Schools–they know how to get out the vote. For a single ballot question with little personality, no religious issues, or gender gaps the turnout was great in Ada County–a Whopping 29%. Compared to the Boise mayor/council election the turnout was nearly double. [...]
Ada Elections Office Busy Fielding Calls–Voting SNAFU In Pct. 50
BULLETIN– 10:08 p.m. MERIDIAN VOTERS CAST 47 BOISE BALLOTS IN PRECINCT 50 Ada Election Central has issued this statement: “A pad of the Independent School District of Boise City Supplemental Levy ballots was inadvertently placed with those of the Meridian School District Supplemental Levy resulting in 47 ballots being issued to Meridian Voters. This occurred [...]
Update On School Levy Elections
We have received several comments from readers regarding the Tuesday School Elections. First are allegations that Boise’s ballot language disguises the fact they are seeking $70,000,000 which is broken down into $14,000,000 every year for 5 years. One reader claims the Meridian ballot is much clearer, adding the Boise cost pegged at a mere $7 [...]
School Levy Election Tuesday–Be Sure To VOTE!
A bunch of school levy elections set for Tuesday because the Idaho Legislature has shifted much of the cost of education to property owners while proclaiming legislators have “held the line” on tax hikes. They may have held the line, but only with a massive shift. To learn where to vote following the statewide redistricting [...]
Boise School Levy, YES or NO?
After a coin flip at the GUARDIAN world headquarters, the YES folks won top billing for this story, but the GUARDIAN will stick with long standing policy and not endorse issues or candidates. We provide the forum to further public discussion of important issues. The election is March 13. (We really did flip for top [...]
Meridian Sexting Ban Better Suited For Coppers
While well intentioned, a proposed “sexting policy” for the Meridian School District may be better suited for law enforcement. As written, the policy is constitutionally intrusive with potentially illegal searches into student telephones and communication devices. Rather than the following proposed policy, the District may be better served to have a simple policy stating, “If [...]
U of I, Penn State Cases Share Similar Facts
We are surprised how few seem to have connected the dots between the tragic murder of the University of Idaho Coed and the child rape allegations at Penn State. In both cases university officials were advised of horrible crimes and/or threats, but no action was even taken to launch full fledged investigations. All concerned should [...]
“Paper or Plastic?” Goes To Polls In Hailey
The question of “paper or plastic” will be answered by voters at the polls in Hailey November 8 when they cast their ballots on a proposed ordinance banning plastic bags. The issue got on the local ballot due to the efforts of the Wood River High school environmental club, W.A.T.E.R. (We Appreciate The Earth’s Resources). [...]
Spanking In Castleford Schools 5 Times Yearly
The small school district of Castleford near Twin Falls still practices corporal punishment, but no more than five times a year according to school officials. That report came in a story published today in the TIMES-NEWS newspaper. According to the story, Idaho is one of 19 states where it’s still legal to whap kids on [...]
Land Board Reveals Vacancy Rates
After the GUARDIAN broke the story of the Idaho Land Board advertising for a construction manager to build a brew pub in downtown Boise, it was revealed they were spending the endowment fund money to attract a new tenant to the building with an 86% vacancy rate. One of our readers provided the results of [...]
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